BASEBALL; The Yankees' Holding Pattern Is Sure to Change

By JACK CURRY

Published: November 13, 2004

Brian Cashman's voice was hoarse, his eyes were droopy and his walk was slow Friday morning. Cashman, the general manager of the Yankees, looked as if he had been up deep into the night plotting how to improve the team, but the weariness was related to attending a friend's birthday dinner.

As Cashman shuffled out of the Ritz-Carlton hotel, he did it knowing that he had never spoken to Scott Boras, the agent for Carlos Beltran, over the course of this week's general managers meetings and that he had not engaged in any trade discussions he considered substantive. Cashman's conversations at the meetings were like a first date that sometimes leads to marriage.

Sometimes.

''I have nothing going on right now,'' he said. ''There's nothing that is fast and furious and active.''

Because Cashman works for George Steinbrenner, the principal owner of the Yankees, he knows that will change. Cashman and Boras know that there is mutual interest and that they will eventually discuss what it would take to bring Beltran to the Bronx. Beltran is the marquee player available, and Steinbrenner, as always, wants the splash and flash.

The Yankees have internally slotted Beltran as a player they would pay $13 million a year, which would match Gary Sheffield's salary. Boras will surely dismiss that amount and offer the Yankees reams of evidence for why he believes Beltran, a 27-year-old center fielder, is worth as much as $20 million a year.

Teams were able to begin making offers to free agents on Friday, but Cashman did not anticipate the Yankees presenting any proposals this weekend. In addition to Beltran, the Yankees are also focused on the free-agent starting pitchers Eric Milton, Pedro Mart?z, Carl Pavano, Derek Lowe and Kevin Millwood. The Yankees are doubtful about landing Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who has a no-trade clause.

Although Cashman called the free-agent pitchers interchangeable, the Yankees covet Milton because he is left-handed. The Yankees had only 11 starts from left-handers in 2004, their lowest total in 57 years, and they are determined to strengthen themselves from the left side.

Consequently, the Yankees are taking a page from the Red Sox book by partly planning their team around how to beat one team -- Boston. Because Boston has strong left-handed hitters like David Ortiz, Johnny Damon and Trot Nixon, the Yankees want at least one left-handed starter. That is why the Yankees would also like to add a left-handed reliever like Steve Kline, who could throttle Boston hitters in the late innings.

Milton, who was drafted in the first round by the Yankees in 1996, was 14-6 with a 4.75 earned run average for the Philadelphia Phillies last season. The Phillies have expressed interest in acquiring Kevin Brown from the Yankees. But the Yankees would have to absorb a major portion of Brown's $15 million salary, which they are considering, and Brown would have to waive his no-trade clause.

Not surprisingly, Cashman said the Yankees had not rated the free-agent starters. That could have been part of Cashman's negotiating stance. If Cashman contends that the free-agent starters are all of equal status, it could give him an edge when he negotiates with them.

''I need to find out the wishes of those guys on a financial basis to help me slot them,'' Cashman said. ''Some guys want more than we think they're worth; they'll fall toward the back end. Some guys are more in line with what we think the values are, then they'll move higher.''

So the Yankees are the same team at the end of these meetings as they were when the meetings began. That is not shocking; only one trade was made at the meetings last year. Cashman planned to have lunch with his grandmother on Friday afternoon and maybe have a quiet weekend at home in Connecticut. The rest of the off-season will get busier for the Yankees, eventually.

''We got a great team, as is,'' Cashman said. ''We've got the opportunity to make it better. Whatever the challenge is every year, I feel we're up to it.''

Photos: Brian Cashman wants to add a left-hander like Eric Milton to the Yankees' rotation. (Photos by Left, Barton Silverman/The New York Times; Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press)